Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

A company that works with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on genealogy software is making its service available through the church’s family history libraries.

Back in 2013, MyHeritage.com, a commercial firm based in Israel, worked out a deal with FamilySearch, the genealogy site operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In exchange for help with its search and matching software, it got access to the billions of family and historical records compiled by the church.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provided an update Wednesday on how its members and missionaries are dealing with the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. It’s just one of many local religious groups making significant contributions to the effort.

Mormon activists who’ve been pushing for more inclusion of gays and lesbians within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints see a new opportunity now that the U-S Supreme Court has decided not to hear Utah’s appeal of its same-sex marriage case.

Erika Munson is one of the founders of Mormons Building Bridges, which has marched in Salt Lake City’s Pride Parade and helped to moderate many private discussions among Mormons.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints will hold its second General Women’s Meeting tomorrow evening. For those who support ordaining women to the L-D-S priesthood, the atmosphere has changed since last spring.

Since the first General Women’s meeting last March, the founder of Ordain Women, Kate Kelly, was excommunicated from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Other leaders of the group have faced sanctions related to their activism, including release from church callings and loss of their temple recommends.

The family of a Mormon missionary who died in Taiwan is waiting to hear from the Taiwanese government before making funeral arrangements.

Elder Connor Thredgold, who was 19, comes from Springville, Utah. He and his companion, 24-year-old Elder Yu Peng Xiong, were found dead in their apartment in New Taipei City on Saturday. Police think carbon monoxide from a faulty water heater is to blame.

Tom McHoes, a family friend, says many people have stepped forward to comfort Elder Thredgold’s parents in Springville, Utah.

A top leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is urging Mormons to “sweep the earth” with positive messages in social media. One LDS blogger says she's already trying to do that.

Elder David Bednar of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles gave a talk at Brigham Young University on Monday, saying members of the church have only begun to tap the potential of social media. He encouraged Mormons to do much more – without going overboard.

The annual Sunstone Symposium starts Wednesday, bringing together scholars and others interested in current issues in Mormonism. There’s one issue in particular drawing much of the attention this year.

The symposium plans several sessions on the excommunication of Ordain Women founder Kate Kelly. They’ll include a look at how the practice of excommunication has evolved through Mormon history and the personal experiences of some who lost their official membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints years ago.

Kate Kelly, the founder of the group Ordain Women, has appealed her excommunication from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And her husband is wondering why he hasn’t also been subjected to church discipline.

Descendants of Utah’s Mormon pioneers have a new way to connect with the stories of their ancestors’ adventures on the trek to Utah.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints operates the FamilySearch genealogy database. And it’s also compiled records of the pioneers’ overland travel to Utah in a database that links to journals, photos and other records.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has published another in a series of articles on controversial historical topics on its official website. This one looks at the origin of the Book of Abraham, the source of some uniquely Mormon teachings.

Thousands of young Latter-day Saints took advantage of the change in age for missionary service after it was announced almost two years ago. It won’t be long before some of those missionaries will be coming home. KUER’s Dan Bammes reports the University of Utah is making plans to accommodate them.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has about 86-thousand missionaries serving around the world. Church leaders are expecting that number to peak later this year. KUER’s Dan Bammes has more.

The top leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement on the issue of women’s ordination to the priesthood over the weekend. But it hasn’t deterred those who are hoping the church will still make that change.

Even though she’s no longer a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the founder of Ordain Women says she’ll continue in the leadership of the movement to gain the priesthood throughout the church.

The founder of the group Ordain Women is waiting to find out whether she’ll be excommunicated from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But hundreds of people gathered to support her yesterday near church headquarters, promising to stand by her no matter what a disciplinary council decides.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Tuesday that it will no longer operate a full-service adoption agency. LDS Family Services will instead shift resources toward counseling for unmarried, expectant parents.

LDS Family Services Adoption Manager David McConkie says the Church will still be working to promote adoption.

Only men are allowed to hold the priesthood in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Advocating for a change in that policy is the reason Kate Kelly is facing possible excommunication. But because she’s a woman, the rules for church discipline are different than they would be for a man.

Margaret Toscano knows what the experience is like – she was excommunicated 14 years ago for her public statements on ordaining women to the priesthood in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The founder of the group Ordain Women and the creator of a podcast on Mormon issues are facing formal discipline from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Both face the prospect of excommunication from the church.

Kate Kelly led members of Ordain Women through the gates of Temple Square during the last two general conferences of the church, asking to be admitted to the session reserved for only those men and boys who hold the priesthood. Each time they were turned away, but the demonstrations drew a lot of media coverage.

Two African-American Mormon women who’ve gained a following with a popular podcast,Sistas in Zion, are out with a new book about their experiences in the LDS church.

Tamu Smith and Zandra Vranes say their book Diary of Two Mad Black Mormons addresses spiritual topics as it bounces back and forth between uniquely Mormon culture and the urban dialect they grew up with. They say it’s helping them find a new audience.

The museum first opened in 1978 to showcase Monte Bean’s collection of big game trophies from a lifetime of hunting. With an additional 30-thousand square feet, there’s lots of new exhibit space as well as room to house a number of research collection of animal specimens.

The University of Utah will become the new owner of the historic Wall Mansion at 4th East and South Temple in Salt Lake City.

The Wall Mansion was built in the 1880’s and renovated by mining millionaire Enos Wall early in the 20th Century. In the 1960’s, it became the home of LDS Business College, but it’s been empty since the college moved to the Triad Center in 2006.

Priesthood ordination is available only to men in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But a group of women seeking ordination is trying a new tactic to persuade Mormons to change their minds.

Ordain Women is publishing a series of six discussions on its website, covering the history and doctrine of the LDS church and hoping to persuade more women to join the effort to change church policy.

Once again, members of a group of women seeking ordination to the priesthood in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were denied the opportunity to attend the priesthood session of the church’s General Conference.

Ordain Women gathered for a devotional service in a city park two blocks from Temple Square in the afternoon before the priesthood session on Saturday. Gina Colvin came from New Zealand. She says the church’s patriarchal structure disempowers women.

Temple Square is typically crowded with members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other visitors during General Conference sessions twice a year. But reporters and media cameras or recorders won’t be allowed on the square this weekend.

Members of the church public affairs staff say they’re just reiterating a long-standing policy about media access to Temple Square, though reporters with cameras have often taken pictures and interviewed visitors on the square in past years.